A decision tree to guide long term venous access placement in children and adolescents undergoing surgery for renal tumors.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: While many children with renal tumors require long term venous access (VA) for adjuvant chemotherapy, certainly not all do. This study develops and tests a VA decision tree (DT) to direct the placement of VA in patients with renal tumors. METHODS: Utilizing data readily available at surgery a VADT was developed. The VADT was tested retrospectively by 2 independent reviewers on a historic cohort. The ability of the VADT to appropriately select which patients would benefit from VA placement was tested. RESULTS: 160 patients underwent renal tumor surgery between 2005 and 2018. 70 (43.8%) patients met study criteria with median age of 45.1 months (range 1.1-224); 73% required VA. Using the VADT, VA placement was "needed" in 67.1% of patients and "deferred" in 32.9%. Interrater reliability was very high (kappa = 0.97, 95% CI 0.91-1, p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of the VADT to correctly decide on VA placement were 0.92 (0.8-0.98) and 1 (0.79-1). Using the VADT, no patient would have undergone unnecessary VA placement. In reality, 4.3% of patients had an unnecessary VA placed which required a subsequent removal. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary data support the continued study of this VADT to guide intraoperative decisions regarding VA placement in patients with renal tumors. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III - Study of diagnostic test.

Extirpative renal surgery volume in training: different roads to the (same?) destination.

PURPOSE: To describe the overall extirpative renal surgery (ERS) training volume reported by PU and PS. METHODS: Case log data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) was examined from 2013-2016 for surgery residents (Sres), urology residents (Ures), pediatric surgery fellows (PSfel) and pediatric urology fellows (PUfel). Case log information for all levels of participation over all case categories that could potentially offer ERS volume were recorded. Volume was estimated using the mean number of included cases during residency and fellowship and the sum was used to estimate total training volume. Volume between groups was compared using the student's t test. RESULTS: Case logs were included for 4447 residents (4259 Sres, 840 Ures) and fellows (188 PSfel, 71 PUfel). Mean PU volume was 113.1, which was higher than the mean PS volume of 10.3 (p < 0.001). For PU, more ERS were performed during residency than fellowship (p < 0.001). For PS the opposite was true (p < 0.001). When examining fellow training only, PUfel performed more ERS than PSfel (11.7 vs. 7.0 p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: While previous publications note similar short-term outcomes for ERS for malignancy for PU and PS, ERS case volume during training is significantly different. Review of recent ACGME data indicate that PU have more overall experience with ERS, with most gained during residency. Additionally, PUfel performed significantly more ERS than PSfel. Further study into how these training differences affect long-term outcomes is necessary.

Microhematuria assessment an IBCN consensus-Based upon a critical review of current guidelines.

RATIONALE: Assessment of patients with asymptomatic microhematuria (aMh) has been a challenge to urologists for decades. The aMh is a condition with a high prevalence in the general population and also an established diagnostic indicator of bladder cancer. Acknowledging aMh needs to be assessed within a complex context, multiple guidelines have been developed to identify individuals at high risk of being diagnosed with bladder cancer. MATERIAL & METHODS: This structured review and consensus of the International Bladder Cancer Network (IBCN) identified and examined 9 major guidelines. These recommendations are partly based on findings from a long-term study on the effects of home dipstick testing, but also on the assumption that early detection of malignancy might be beneficial. RESULTS: Despite similar designs, these guidelines differ in a variety of parameters including definition of aMh, rating of risks, use of imaging modalities, and the role of urine cytology. In addition, recommendations for further follow-up after negative initial assessment are controversial. In this review, different aspects for aMh assessment are analyzed based upon the evidence currently available. DISCUSSION: We question whether adherence to the complicated algorithms as recommended by most guidelines is practical for routine use. Based upon a consensus, the authors postulate a need for better tools. New concepts for risk assessment permitting improved risk stratification and prepone cystoscopy before refined imaging procedures (computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging) are suggested.